Strawberry Cultivation and Types

Strawberries and Organic Aquaponics

The strawberry plant is actually a relative of the rose, hailing from the Rosaceae family, in the genus Fragaria. Strawberries are fun to grow because the plants produce many times their own weight in juicy strawberries. Strawberries begin to ripen approximately 4 weeks after the first flowers open. As the top 10cm of soil harbor most of a strawberry plant’s roots, they are particularly susceptible to drought if the top soil in the container gets too dry. The productive part of a strawberry plant is the crown. It is from the crown that strawberry plants produce both runners (called stolons) and flowering fruit stalks which produces the fruit. Off-shoot plants are supported by the runners until their roots are in contact with soil. From there, the shoot establishes an independent root system and the runner will shrivel and separate from the mother plant. The most commonly grown commercial strawberry species is the Fragaria x ananassa, Garden Strawberry.

The Basic Strawberry Types

June-bearing Strawberry- June bearers are the most common and produce the largest strawberries. As the name implies, June bearing strawberry plants produce a fruit around the month of June in northern climates.

Everbearing Strawberrys- Everbearing strawberry varieties actually do not produce all the time as the name implies. However they do produce twice or three times during the changing seasons in northern climates. Everbearing strawberry varieties produce less or no runners, unlike the June bearing varieties.

Day-neutral Strawberrys- Unlike June bearing varieties, day neutral strawberries will produce a good yield in the first year they are planted. They flower and set strawberries whenever the temperature is between 35 and 85 degrees F'. The drawback to day neutral strawberry plants is that they produce smaller strawberries than do the June bearing and Everbearing strawberry varieties. Their fruit is usually small to medium in size, rarely exceeding one inch.

Alpine Strawberry- The Scientific taxonomy name is Fragaria vesca, and goes byvarious common names beside the most used name 'Alpine". It is also called wild strawberry, woodland strawberry, European strawberry, or fraise des bois.

The 5 basic anatomical parts of a strawberry plant: leaf, roots, crown, stolon (“runner”) and daughter When growing strawberry’s in containers, they are happier when they are planted in small groups. So plant several together in an evenly spaced gathering. Pinching off the flowers is a good idea in the first flush. During the first year, remove all the flowers from the plant. You want to allow them time to establish and become stronger before they put their energy into fruiting. In that way they will thank you the following flush by producing an increased crop. Over time the strawberry’s root system will grow upwards and it will lifting itself up from the soil. So you will want to top up the soil in order to keep the roots covered as the months...

Strawberry Seeds General Information There can be more than 200 strawberry seeds on the outside of a strawberry. Strawberrys are referred to as a “berry,” but they are not a true berry like blueberries and others. Their seeds are not true “seeds” either.” The red strawberry flesh is actually accessory tissue, while the tiny tan flecks are actually fruits in and of themselves. These tiny tan fruits contain the seeds. The seed-containing fruits are called “achenes” Or can also be referred to as an akene, achenocarp, or an achenium. Germinating Strawberry Seeds All wild and alpine varieties should be placed in the freezer for 3 weeks so as to “cold stratify” them, simulating the winter. This will improve the percentage of germination. Traditional Strawberries: The germination type substrate (17% compost) should be approximately 2cm deep and pre-moistened to 30%. Sprinkle the seeds over the damp seed substrate and add a light dusting of pure peat moss over the planted surface. Strawberry seeds germinate faster with some light hitting them. The germination time averages 21-30 days. Once the strawberry plants have sprouted, do not transplant into a container until the 3rd true leaves appear. Alpine Strawberries: Press into soil but barely cover them. Cover the germination tray or cell with newspaper to exclude light and to keep out of direct sun light. The germination will be between 2 to 5...

Equations and Symbols

Get Up-to-Speed on Microorganisms

Soluable Salt Ranges

Keeping up on your soluble salt range is important. Always have an instrument at hand to check your nutrient levels. The below chart is a general guide as to what levels are acceptable or not.

Desireable

Permisable

Dangerous

EC

.75-2 mS

2-3 mS

3 mS & ↑

PPM

500-1300

1300-2000

2000 & ↑

Electrical Conductivity (EC) of a solution is a measure of ionic compounds dissolved in water. Organic Nutrients are ionic compounds. Another name for ionic compounds is salts. Assuming the water had very little EC before you added the liquid fertilizer, measuring the EC will tell us how much fertilizer we have in our liquid. EC is commonly measured in milli-siemens (mS) and/or Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) expressed in Parts Per Million (PPM). Both will give you the same information of how much fertilizer is in your liquid. The EC and PPM are always in relation. So stating the EC and PPM is redundant. The relationship is 1 EC (measured in mS) = 650 PPM.

About BioChar Pyrolysis

Quote from:
Daniel D. Warnock & Johannes Lehmann & Thomas W. Kuyper & Matthias C. Rillig
"Biochar is a term reserved for the plant biomass derived
materials contained within the black carbon
(BC) continuum. This definition includes chars and
charcoal, and excludes fossil fuel products or geogenic
carbon (Lehmann et al. 2006). Materials
forming the BC continuum are produced by partially
combusting (charring) carbonaceous source materials,
e.g. plant tissues (Schmidt and Noack 2000; Preston
and Schmidt 2006; Knicker 2007), and have both
natural as well as anthropogenic sources. Restricting the oxygen supply during combustion can prevent complete combustion (e.g., carbon volatilization and
ash production) of the source materials. When plant
tissues are used as raw materials for biochar production,
heat produced during combustion volatilizes a
significant portion of the hydrogen and oxygen, along
with some of the carbon contained within the plant’s
tissues (Antal and Gronli 2003; Preston and Schmidt
2006).... Depending on the temperatures
reached during combustion and the species identity
of the source material, a biochar’s chemical and
physical properties may vary (Keech et al. 2005;
Gundale and DeLuca 2006). For example, coniferous biochars generated at lower temperatures, e.g. 350°C, can contain larger amounts of available nutrients,
while having a smaller sorptive capacity for cations
than biochars generated at higher temperatures, e.g.
800°C (Gundale and DeLuca 2006). Furthermore,
plant species with many large diameter cells in their
stem tissues can lead to greater quantities of macropores
in biochar particles. Larger numbers of macropores
can for example enhance the ability of biochar
to adsorb larger molecules such as phenolic compounds
(Keech et al. 2005)."
Check out the entire report at:
Mycorrhizal Responses to Biochar in Soil–Concepts and Mechanisms"

Biochar & Fungi Relationship

Cation Exchange Capacity Information Blurb

The total CEC is impacted by these factors:
Amount of active humus such as compost, Amount of passive humus such as Biochar, The pyrolysis method of the Biochar added, Was the Biochar activated and/or inoculated? The type and amount of microorganisms, and The overall pH